GRADING
THE
PADRES

Not too many players on roster worthy of a spot on the honor roll

D+The development of right-handers Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross and the promising late-season outings of rookies Robbie Erlin and Burch Smith can’t hide the fact that this was an area that worried the Padres coming out of last season, wasn’t addressed last winter and was terrible through the first two-thirds of the season. Edinson Volquez and Clayton Richard struggled right from the start. Cashner could develop into a No. 1. He could be the Padres’ strength in 2014.

Bullpen

CAlthough Huston Street struggled early, he successfully converted 33 of his 35 save attempts and gave up runs in only two of his last 32 outings. Luke Gregerson was again solid as the setup man, and Ramona High grad Nick Vincent came on strong to supplant struggling Dale Thayer in the No. 2 setup role. Tim Stauffer was usable in the long role. But the Padres lacked a left-handed presence after trading Joe Thatcher. And young relievers Brad Brach, Brad Boxberger and Anthony Bass all went in reverse in 2013 after showing promise in 2012.

Infield

C-Jedd Gyorko had a solid rookie season and led the Padres with 23 homers and 63 RBIs despite missing a month with a groin strain. But Chase Headley’s season-long slump and Yonder Alonso’s right-hand injury resulted in an absence of power at the corner spots. And although Ronny Cedeno played better than expected, the Padres were not the same after Everth Cabrera started serving his 50-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.

Outfield

DThe Padres were counting on Carlos Quentin to play 120 games and he fell 38 short. The loss of Cameron Maybin to wrist and knee problems turned formerly platooning right fielders Will Venable and Chris Denorfia into everyday players. Both responded with solid seasons, but the outfield totaled 62 home runs for the season. Both ranking left fielders, Quentin and Blanks, were hurting much of the season.

Catching

C-Coming out of last season, the Padres were counting on switch-hitter Yasmani Grandal to be their everyday catcher. He opened the season serving a 50-day drug suspension and then blew out his ACL. Nick Hundley returned to catch a career-high number of games. But he isn’t Grandal. Near the end of the season, Rene Rivera saw increasing action with Cashner.